Associate Director, Supply Chain

1110 Kite Pharma, Inc.; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 214,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Stock-based incentives

Benefits package

Job summary

Kite Pharma, Inc. is seeking an experienced Program/Project Manager to enable external supply and partnerships within a fast-paced biopharma environment.

You will drive risk management, governance, and reporting across CTLs, CMOs, and partnerships, ensuring timely execution and leadership visibility. The role requires strong program management and budget skills, with experience in cross-functional collaboration and executive communication.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Life Sciences, Engineering, or another relevant discipline with at least 10+ years of relevant, progressively responsible experience in program/project management, business operations, or supply chain.
• OR Master’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Life Sciences, Engineering, or another relevant discipline with at least 7+ years of relevant, progressively responsible experience in program/project management, business operations, or supply chain.
• Demonstrated project/program management experience, including risk/issue management, governance facilitation, and cross-functional plan integration.
• Experience with budget planning and financial tracking processes (Latest Estimate/Budget/Long-Range Plan cycles).
• Proven ability to interact effectively with senior management and cross-functional teams.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.
• APICS CPIM/CSCP certification or MBA (advanced degree).

Responsibilities

• Provide program/project management support to External Supply Enablement through managing risk, escalations, decisions, and tracking.
• Maintain integrated plans, timelines, and RAID logs for timely execution and leadership visibility.
• Manage and report performance for CTLs, CMOs, and Partnerships; consolidate KPI data into dashboards and scorecards.
• Establish and maintain standardized reporting, dashboards, and data flows across the external network.
• Develop and manage annual budget cycles with Finance and Team Leads; align to spend targets and elevate risks/overages.
• Drive Lean and Operational Excellence across ES&P processes; partner with leadership to cascade priorities.
• Prepare for and facilitate governance forums, including JSCs and reviews; ensure minutes and actions are captured.
• Act as operational partner to ES&P leadership; provide structure and connective tissue across teams.
• Communicate updates to senior management clearly and concisely; manage multiple priorities across stakeholders.

Skills

Project management

Budget planning

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive communication

Risk management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Supply Chain/Life Sciences/Engineering

Master's degree in Business/Supply Chain/Life Sciences/Engineering

Tools

Power BI

Smartsheet

Excel

PowerPoint

SharePoint

Job description

We’re here for one reason and one reason only – to cure cancer. Every moment is dedicated to developing treatments and every action moves us one step closer to our goal. We’ve made incredible scientific breakthroughs and our pioneering personalized CAR T-cell therapies have changed the paradigm. But we're not finished yet. Join Kite, as we make even bigger advances in cancer therapies, and help shape where our business and medical science goes next. We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Kite and help create more tomorrows.

Key Responsibilities

• External Supply Enablement & Program Management Support CTL, CMO, and Partnerships Focus Factory Teams (FFTs) through Project Management, including reporting and developing/enabling tools to manage risk, escalations, decisions, and tracking of activities.
• This includes maintaining integrated plans, timelines, and RAID (Risks, Actions, Issues, Decisions) logs to ensure timely execution and leadership visibility.
• Manage and report overall performance for Contract Testing Laboratories (CTLs), Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs), and Partnerships, consolidating KPI data into executive-ready dashboards and scorecards for monthly/quarterly business reviews.
• Establish and maintain standardized reporting, dashboards, and data flows that provide accurate, timely visibility across the external network.
• Develop and manage annual budget cycles, coordinating with Finance, Focus Factory Team Leads, and functional owners to consolidate submissions, align to spend targets, and elevate risks or overages.
• Develop and manage overall ES&P goals in alignment with Kite, Tech Ops, and Supply Chain (SC) goals, partnering with the ES&P Functional Leadership Team to cascade strategic priorities and track progress throughout the year.
• Manage risk and the business continuity program for the External Manufacturing, External Testing, and partnership network, ensuring mitigation and contingency plans are in place where required.
• Act as the point of contact for managing internal audits, coordinating audit readiness activities, document requests, and response tracking across ES&P functions.
• Support/lead preparation for and facilitation of internal governance forums (e.g., internal Joint Steering Committees (JSCs), internal performance reviews), workshops, and staff meetings, ensuring pre-reads, minutes, and follow-up actions are captured and closed out on time.
• Serve as a trusted operational partner to the ES&P Executive Director and Functional Leadership Team, providing structure, discipline, and connective tissue across FFTs, Workstreams, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Drive Operational Excellence by applying Lean principles and continuous improvement methodologies across ES&P processes.
• Communicate effectively with senior management through clear, concise written and verbal updates.
• Apply sound organizational and time management skills to manage multiple priorities effectively across a broad, matrixed set of stakeholders.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Life Sciences, Engineering, or another relevant discipline with at least 10+ years of relevant, progressively responsible experience in program/project management, business operations, or supply chain.
• OR Master’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Life Sciences, Engineering, or another relevant discipline with at least 7+ years of relevant, progressively responsible experience in program/project management, business operations, or supply chain.
• Demonstrated project/program management experience, including risk/issue management, governance facilitation, and cross-functional plan integration.
• Experience with budget planning and financial tracking processes (Latest Estimate/Budget/Long-Range Plan cycles).
• Proven ability to interact effectively with senior management and cross-functional teams.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.
• APICS CPIM/CSCP certification or MBA (advanced degree).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting or partnering with external manufacturing (CMO), contract testing (CTL), or strategic partnership relationships, ideally within cell & gene therapy or broader biopharma manufacturing.
• Advanced expertise in stakeholder management, executive communication, and governance facilitation.
• PMP certification or equivalent formal project/program management training.
• Advanced proficiency with reporting and collaboration tools (Power BI, Smartsheet, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint).
• Experience supporting internal or external audits/inspections in partnership with Quality.
• Working knowledge of pharmaceutical GMPs and the CMO/CDMO landscape.

The salary range for this position is: $165,495.00 - $214,170.00. Kite considers a variety of factors when determining base compensation, including experience, qualifications, and geographic location. These considerations mean actual compensation will vary. This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package.

Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans*.

* Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

Kite is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of innovative cancer immunotherapies with a goal of providing rapid, long-term durable response and eliminating the burden of chronic care. The company is focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T cell receptor (TCR) engineered cell therapies designed to empower the immune system’s ability to recognize and kill tumors.

Kite is based in Santa Monica, CA. For more information on Kite, please visit www.kitepharma.com.

Sign up to follow @KitePharma on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kitepharma.

For jobs in the United States: Kite Pharma is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and is dedicated to fostering an inclusive work environment comprised of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws. In order to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact [e-mail] for assistance. For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the 'Know Your Rights' poster.

NOTICE: EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT Kite Pharma will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, (c) consistent with the legal duty to furnish information; or (d) otherwise protected by law. Our environment respects individual differences and recognizes each employee as an integral member of our company. Our workforce reflects these values and celebrates the individuals who make up our growing team. Kite Pharma provides a work environment free of harassment and prohibited conduct. We promote and support individual differences and diversity of thoughts and opinion.

Change The World With Us

Everyone at Kite is grounded by one common goal – curing cancer. Every day, we aim to establish a direct line between that purpose and our day-to-day work. We are creating Kite together, with the recognition that the best teams are built by the best people. We maintain an attitude of curiosity, and creativity with each challenge as we develop a new market for cancer therapies. We appreciate and respect one another, and most importantly, we don’t take success for granted. While we’ve come a long way to make what others viewed as impossible, possible, we know one thing is certain. Today is just the beginning.